Laws are passed by the national and provincial parliaments – the National and Federal Councils and the Diets in the individual provinces. These parliaments thus have a central role to play in the political process and the way the affairs of the state are organised. The Federal Government, the administration and the courts can only act in accordance with the laws. This means that Parliament prepares the ground on which the state can act.

The process which a law undergoes from a bill – a legislative proposal – to its adoption and promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette is called legislation. It comprises a great many steps, and usually several months pass between the time a first draft is made to its being voted in Parliament. More